Friday Special Lecture for High School and University Students_2023
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Content List
Summer Semester Program 2023
Friend or Foe? A microorganism that can be both plant pathogen and symbiont [JP]
Are you familiar with plant pathogens and symbionts? Pathogens have the potential to restrict plant growth and induce diseases, whereas symbionts are known to promote plant growth and fitness. These microbes have traditionally been perceived as separate and distinct due to their divergent effects on plants. However, is this really true? In this lecture, I will explain that pathogenic and …
生命を支える手術ロボットシステム
NOTE: - This lecture was conducted only in Japanese. ★Your sharing on SNS may inspire others.
A Recognition of Disaster as “Wonder” : Reading Hōjōki by Kamo no Chōmei [JP]
We have a lot of classical literary works in Japan, but few of them have disaster as their theme. Almost the only one that comes to our mind is Hōjōki by Kamo no Chōmei. Renowned for its opening lines---- "The flow of the river never ceases, and the water never stays the same."---- and the view of impermanence (mujō), Hojoki focuses on five major disasters and social upheaval (massive fire, torna…
A Story of a Centaur born from Auschwitz [JP]
Primo Levi was an Italian writer of Jewish origin, and he wrote a number of literary works whilst working as a chemist. In this lecture, we will discuss Levi's short story "Quaestio de Centauris" and consider the significance of reading foreign literature. [Reference book] Primo Levi, "Tenshi no Chô", translated by Eiko Sekiguchi, Kobunsha Koten Shinyakubunko, 2008. NOTE: - This lecture was…
Starting Social Sciences with Computers: Focusing on Simulation of Conflicts and Crises [JP]
Although the cells that make up an individual have the same set of genes, cells can have different shapes and functions. To make this possible, individual cells have different mechanisms that use specific sets of genes. One of these mechanisms is "RNA silencing", in which small RNAs play a key role. Currently, our lab is working to understand the molecular mechanisms of RNA silencing that occur s…
How do we make machines use language like humans?[JP]
AIs working with language, such as machine translation and ChatGPT, are based on the technology called natural language processing, and they are widely used in our daily lives. However, these AIs do not always use language like humans do, and this hinders us from realizing a life where humans and AIs work well together. In this lecture, we will give an overview of research and methods to make lan…
Winter Semester Program 2023
Empathy and Severance in the 21st Century Anglophone Writing and Its Translation [JP]
When contemporary English-language novels explore what it means to be an individual, they often show us the significance of empathy in connecting the self and the other, as well as the importance of facing up to the deep-seated divisions or severance in society today. We will examine two novels written in this century to consider how these ideas are explored and expressed, and how the act of tran…
Recurrence relations, Graphs and Cluster algebras [JP]
You are probably familiar with a number of integer sequences determined by recurrence relations, such as the arithmetic sequences, the geometric sequences, the Fibonacci sequence, and so on. In this lecture, I will introduce a kind of integer sequences called the friezes, which are determined by curious recurrence relations. The friezes enjoy a number of remarkable properties that one might not e…
Measuring the Expansion of the Universe by Exploding Stars [JP]
It has been known since the 1920s that the universe is expanding. Surprisingly, studies of the explosions of stars called supernovae have shown that the rate of expansion is getting faster and faster. In this lecture, I will show you how we measure the expansion rate of the universe and the surprising reasons why it is getting faster. NOTE: - This lecture was conducted only in Japanese. ★You…
Why do plants bloom in different seasons? [JP]
Flowers bloom in different seasons and add color to our daily lives. How is the timing of flowering determined? This talk will outline the molecular mechanisms by which plants sense the season and determine the appropriate time to flower, focusing on the regulation of florigen, a floral growth hormone. NOTE: - This lecture was conducted only in Japanese. ★Your sharing on SNS may inspire othe…
Creating New Fluid Science for Next-Generation Aerospace Mobility [JP]
Many of the fluid phenomena unique to liquid helium, which loses viscosity near absolute zero temperature, have not yet been reproduced by computers, although these phenomena can be observed with the naked eye. To overcome this current situation, we are exploring a new fluid theory that combines quantum hydrodynamics and fluid mechanics. In this lecture, I will discuss the "new fluid science" req…
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The other world invented in the Western Middle Ages : what is Purgatory? [JP]
Purgatory is a new concept of the afterlife that emerged in the Western world between the 12th and 13th centuries. The course will begin by focusing on the reasons why Western societies of the time needed Purgatory, and will examine the process of its establishment from antiquity, as well as its historical significance, with reference to Dante's Divine Comedy and other sources. NOTE: - This l…
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